Free The Bear King's Captive: Curvy Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance by Milly Taiden Page B

middle of the ocean.” He rolled over. “When can we go back inside? I’m cold and hungry.”
    Leah realized the second phone call was the commander telling Bald Psycho to go somewhere, maybe they were regrouping for a new strategy. “I think now would be a good time to leave.”
    “Awesome.” Ivan sat up, pushing the tarp aside. They scooted sheets and all into the corner and stood in the shadows. “Where are we going?”
    Leah peeked down the catwalk. “Where they’ll never look for us. Back to the locked storage room.”
                 

 
     
    TEN
     
    Hannes stared out the ship’s library window at the blackness slowly melting into pink and blue. This room filled with books and movies had surprised him when he came upon it on his way to the fitness room. Vessel cruises were actually quite nice. But he’d be glad when the sun and moon once again correlated with his body clock. Eating lunch when the sun came up and breakfast at midnight didn’t help his sour mood.
    The door behind him opened and closed. His lieutenant was the last team member to arrive.
    The commander stood at the front of the room with his men’s undivided attention. “Thank you for your search efforts.” He paced toward the door. “You’ve been briefed with everything I know about the woman and boy, which isn’t a lot. We could’ve had more if Diego were here to tell us.”
    He shot an angry glance toward Korhonen. “Neither guest is a threat.” He stopped directly in front of his second-in-command. “Lieutenant, when you took the woman to the holding room, did you notice if she was frightened or do anything to frighten her more?”
    “Sir, I noticed nothing.”
    “Nothing?”
    “Nothing, sir.”
    Hannes nodded and casually stepped to the side. A strange thing with his second, sometimes he couldn’t scent the man’s lies or emotions. It’s as if at certain times, he became a machine, no feelings, no thoughts. Just a body. Right now, the soldier was barely human. 
    He ran a finger along a shelf of books, keeping his face turned away. “I have spoken to the captain. Very few of the deckhands speak English, and they will stay away from her for fear of Ojo Azul. It’s a good idea for you to do the same.”
    Uneasiness settled in Hannes’ stomach, but not about the woman escaping. They were in the middle of the ocean, and he could find them if he followed their scents. He was more afraid of one of the crewmembers coming across them and doing something stupid.
    “We’ll resume the search after we eat. Axel, since the sun is up, make sure to check the top deck.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “Lieutenant Korhonen, station a man around the comm room and kitchen.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    From his backpack on a faux leather recliner, he pulled out a folded packet. “Now, to tactics.” The commander laid a map on a table for one of Spain’s largest seaports, Algeciras. His men gathered around the table as he marked the route each would take after docking to ensure a clean wrap for the mission.
    Standing across the table from Hannes, Korhonen shook his head. “Why can’t we just dock in Barcelona? It’s a lot closer to base.”
    Hannes stopped talking and coolly looked at him. “That’s exactly why we’re not going there.”
    “No one is on to us. There’s no good reason we can’t dock in Barcelona.”
    “Have you forgotten Barcelona has five cruise ship terminals, transferring well over two million people each year? That poses a high risk factor for identification and tracking.”
    “But--”
    “Who is the commander here?” Hannes turned away from K.
    K crossed his arms in front of his chest, not replying.
    “I will ask one more time, Korhonen. Who is the commander here?”
    “Sir, you are, sir!”
    “Who makes the tactical decisions?”
    “Sir, you do, sir!” The veins in Korhonen’s neck bulged. His fists clenched, knuckles glowing white.
    “Whose authority do you never question?”
    “The commander’s,